Circular economy in Ukrainian agriculture: theoretical and methodological foundations and strategic development directions

Abstract

The relevance of the study is determined by the need to reconsider the development model of Ukrainian agriculture under the combined pressure of war-related destruction, export dependence, resource constraints, soil degradation, disrupted logistics and Ukraine’s gradual approximation to European standards of sustainable agri-food production. In these conditions, the circular economy in agriculture cannot be reduced to waste recycling, separate bioenergy projects or the technical use of crop residues. It should be considered as a resource-reproductive model that connects biomass, nutrients, water, energy, by-products, food losses, soil fertility, value chains and monitoring indicators within a single management framework. The purpose of the article is to substantiate the theoretical and methodological foundations of the circular economy in Ukrainian agriculture and to identify strategic directions for its development. The methodology combines a systemic approach, resource flow analysis, an institutional approach, comparative analysis and content analysis of sources. It is substantiated that biomethane, organic fertilisers, digestate, by-product processing, water-saving production, digital monitoring and food loss reduction should not be treated as interchangeable instruments, since each performs a different economic, environmental and resource-management function. An integrated model of the circular agricultural cycle is proposed. It links input resources, agricultural production, by-product flows, value recovery, return of resources into the cycle, monitoring and policy correction. The practical value of the results lies in forming an analytical basis for agricultural policy, regional biomass processing programmes, biomethane development, circular use of by-products, reduction of resource losses, restoration of soil fertility and preparation of the Ukrainian agricultural sector for European sustainability requirements.